UF football transfer tracker: edge rusher Antwaun Powell-Ryland moving on

GAINESVILLE — Florida Gators’ edge rusher Antwaun Powell-Ryland appeared poised for a breakout season but instead will enter the transfer portal.

Powell-Ryland announced his decision on Twitter following three years in Gainesville.

The Portsmouth, Va., native was a rare bright spot for a moribund defense as last season concluded. The 6-foot-3, 233-pound Powell-Ryland totaled 23 tackles, including 5.5 for loss (3 sacks), and 2 of his team-high 3 forced fumbles the final six games of 2022.

Following the dismissal of veteran Brenton Cox Jr., Powell-Ryland tallied 2 tackles for loss during his first career start, a Nov. 5 win at Texas A&M.

Florida edge rusher Antwaun Powell-Ryland Jr. runs to the ball during the Gators' 29-23 season-opening win against Utah on Sept. 3, 2022, in the Swamp. (Gary McCullough/AP)

The move of veteran Princely Umanmielen from end to the team’s JACK, or edge rusher, position relegated Powell-Ryland to a backup role. He failed to record a statistic April 14 during the Orange’s 10-7 spring game win dominated by defense. The teams combined for 14 tackles for loss, 9 of them sacks.

First-year pass rusher T.J. Searcy had 2 tackles for loss including a sack among his 6 tackles. The 6-foot-5, 245-pound Thomaston, Ga., product also recovered a fumble.

“I don’t think there’s any question anybody watching that game could see that this group of newcomers is going to make our team better,” coach Billy Napier said when asked about Searcy.

Powell-Ryland is the second player to leave since the spring game. He joins offensive lineman David Conner, who officially entered the transfer portal Friday.

UF has 81 scholarship players on its roster, four under the NCAA limit.

UF assistant coach Austin Armstrong calls to his players during a March 28, 2023, practice in the Swamp. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel)

Vitals: 6-3, 233 pounds

Resumé: Powell-Ryland was a 4-star weak-side defensive end out of Indian River in Portsmouth. He had 22 tackles, 7 for loss, during three games in 2019 before he sustained a shoulder injury. He was invited to play in the Under Armour All-American game.

Role: He appeared in all 13 games in 2022, including five starts, and 27 overall. Powell-Ryland’s 29 tackles last season tied cornerback Jason Marshall Jr. for 10th on the team. The Gators lost their top five tacklers and eight of their top 12, but appear positioned to vastly improve under new coordinator Austin Armstrong.

Outlook: Umanmielen move to edge rusher and Searcy’s emergence Powell-Ryland the odd man out.

Vitals: 6-5, 295 pounds

Resumé: Conner was a 3-star recruit rated outside the top 1,000 players overall in the 2022. The native of the Atlanta area transferred from Decatur Martin Luther King to Deerfield Beach High prior to his senior season, potentially impacting his ranking.

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Role: Conner missed last season after surgery on thumb injury sustained during preseason practices. He redshirted and did not appear in a game at UF.

Outlook: The Gators are deep at offensive tackle. Redshirt sophomores Austin Barber and Damieon George Jr. stared on the left and right sides during the spring game, with Jordan Herman a back-up to Barber. Sophomore Kiyaunta Goodwin will battle George for the starting job while first-year freshman Bryce Lovett develops. New Orleans De La Salle’s Caden Jones is expected to enroll this summer.

Florida coach Billy Napier watches from the field during the Gators’ Orange and Blue spring game on April 13 in Gainesville. (John Raoux/AP)

Napier tapped the transfer portal following last season to reshape the 2023 roster. The second-year UF coach will pursue transfers during the coming weeks.

“Our roster is not complete,” Napier said after the spring game.

The Gators welcomed 27 new scholarship players in January, including 10 transfers. Newcomers from the portal included Wisconsin quarterback Graham Mertz, defensive linemen Cam Jackson (Memphis) and Caleb Banks (Louisville), offensive linemen Micah Mazzccua (Baylor), George (Alabama) and Goodwin (Kentucky), Tulane tailback Cam Carroll and Houston linebacker Mannie Nunnery.

“It’s been good to us so far,” Napier said. “The personnel department is doing a really good job. So we’ll evaluate players. We find some that we like, we’ll recruit them.”

This article first appeared on OrlandoSentinel.com. Email Edgar Thompson at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter at @osgators.